Diabetes mellitus is the most common endocrine disease worldwide; hyperglycemia is a hallmark of this disease. To alleviate the pain caused by diabetes， developing and utilizing effective diabetic drugs to maintain or recover the function of the residual β-cells is an attractive therapeutic approach. γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) has been shown to have such effects， but it is easy to have reduced GABA activity under physiological conditions. In the present study， GABA-chitosan nanoparticles (GABA-CS NPs) were prepared， and glucose homeostasis， pancreatic β-cell protection， and anti-inflammatory effects of GABA-CS NPs were investigated in vivo. The results showed that blood glucose levels and IL-1β ... More
Diabetes mellitus is the most common endocrine disease worldwide; hyperglycemia is a hallmark of this disease. To alleviate the pain caused by diabetes， developing and utilizing effective diabetic drugs to maintain or recover the function of the residual β-cells is an attractive therapeutic approach. γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) has been shown to have such effects， but it is easy to have reduced GABA activity under physiological conditions. In the present study， GABA-chitosan nanoparticles (GABA-CS NPs) were prepared， and glucose homeostasis， pancreatic β-cell protection， and anti-inflammatory effects of GABA-CS NPs were investigated in vivo. The results showed that blood glucose levels and IL-1β levels in the GABA-CS NP-administered group were both significantly lower， whereas the PDX1 expression was significantly higher than that of the impaired group ( < 0.01). This indicates that GABA-CS NPs can efficiently maintain glucose homeostasis， protect β-cells， and inhibit inflammation. These nanoparticles have the potential to be applied for future diabetes theranostics.
